This the ninth post of my Ableist Trope of the Week Series. Tropes are conventions (or repeated patterns) used in storytelling. They can include themes and plot devices. Underdog characters triumphing after dedicated training is an example of a trope, as is goodness being associated with physical beauty, and villains revealing their secret plans to […]
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Posted in on Jan 24th, 2016
Activist and writer Jessica Miriam Littenberg joins Fay for the reading of part 1 of “Tala and Prince Hart,” which focuses on Prince Hart’s experience of being asexual in a society that does not recognize asexuality. Jessica then reads one of her powerful poems about transphobia. The following discussion focuses on the experience of not being what you are supposed to be according to society, racism and ableilsm in language, and using art to communicate the experience of oppression by connecting to identifiable feelings.
Tala and Prince Hart: Prince Hart is asexual, but his parents and many suitors are having a hard time accepting that. When the trickster Tala decides to come to his aid, chaos naturally ensues in this exuberant story that is a playful response to the all too common romanticization of boundary-crossing behaviors!
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